On the evening of April 30, KLRU unveiled several new playground games, one of our design and two from the fertile minds of the Connally HS (Pflugerville ISD) Advanced Game Design Class. “Order Up!/A La Orden” asked kids to work with each other and adults to build menu choices that met requirements for price, food groups, caloric content, protein, and distance from farm to table. “Story Safari” had kids scaling The Thinkery’s Backyard to find and recreate story elements nabbed by a pesky monkey. And “Last Animal Standing” had kids play the role of animals who had to both cooperate and compete to obtain a limited food supply. The game designers were hoping to spark complex thinking and real-world connections; these games will be sent to PBS Kids national for use in promoting the new PBS Kids Virtual World this fall, where similar themes will be explored.
Thanks to The Thinkery and the Texas Book Festival for their collaborative efforts! ¡Que vivan los niños!